Meadowlark Optics - Wave Plates 6/24 LB 2024

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Zurich Instruments AG - Lock-In Amplifiers 4/24 MR

136 terms

Photonics Dictionary

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paraboloidal reflector -> paraboloidal mirror

A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a paraboloidal surface through which the axis does not pass, and is known as an...

photometric equipment

Photocells of various kinds used to measure photometric quantities; i.e., intensity, luminance and illuminance. Meter readings are used to express illuminance and, by calibration, to measure...

plane grating

A transmission or reflecting grating with a flat or plane surface requiring a lens or concave mirror to focus the spectrum.

plasmon ion-assisted deposition

Plasmon ion-assisted deposition (PIAD) is a technique used in thin-film deposition processes, particularly in the production of optical coatings. This method combines two key processes: plasmon...

plastic optics

Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to traditional optical components made from glass or other materials. Plastic...

point-focusing collector

A device used in solar systems to direct mirror-reflected sunlight to a heat absorber and heat-driven engine, which turns a generator to produce electricity.

polishing

The optical process, following grinding, that puts a highly finished, smooth and apparently amorphous surface on a lens or a mirror.

positive spherical aberration -> spherical aberration

Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface do not converge or diverge to a single focal point. Instead of focusing to a...

prism

A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent object with at least two flat surfaces that are inclined relative to each...

pyramid error

Pyramid error in optics refers to an aberration in the shape of an optical surface, particularly in the context of mirrors. It is a type of distortion that can occur when the surface of a mirror...

Q-switched pulse

A laser output that occurs when the cavity resonator Q is first kept very low, using rotating mirrors or saturable absorbers, so that the population inversion achieved is greater than usual. A high...

radiation pyrometer

Also known as radiation thermometer. A pyrometer in which the radiant intensity from the source to be measured is used to calculate its temperature. The usual detector is a thermocouple, thermopile...

recording camera

A type of camera that incorporates a tiny mirror that oscillates in accordance with incoming signals. An illuminated slit is imaged by this tiny mirror on a moving ribbon of sensitized paper or film,...

reflecting spectrograph

A solar spectrograph that uses long focus concave mirrors as its collimator and camera element.

resonant cavity -> resonator

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or stimulus is applied at a specific frequency, causing the system to oscillate...

resonator

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or stimulus is applied at a specific frequency, causing the system to oscillate...

retrodirective reflector -> retroreflector

A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their source, regardless of the direction from which the light approaches. Unlike...

retroreflecting multipass cell

Two lenses, separated by a distance equal to the sum of their focal lengths, and retroreflecting mirror assemblies, one of which is coaxial with the lenses and the other slightly translated off-axis.

retroreflector

A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their source, regardless of the direction from which the light approaches. Unlike...

Ross lens

A corrective lens system that is placed near the focal plane of a Newtonian telescope to increase its effective field of view by correcting for coma formed by the telescope's paraboloidal mirror.

Seidel aberrations

Seidel aberrations refer to a set of monochromatic aberrations in optical systems, named after the German mathematician and physicist Ludwig von Seidel. These aberrations describe deviations from...

sextant

A handheld navigational instrument used to measure the elevation angle of celestial bodies such as the sun. An image of the sun is viewed through a small telescope via two plane mirrors so that any...

Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor

The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system. It is widely used in adaptive optics systems to correct distortions and...

solar laser

A laser pumped by solar radiation focused by mirrors.

solid-state laser

A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent light. The term "solid-state" refers to the fact that the active medium, where...

spatial light modulator

A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light in two dimensions, typically in the form of an array. SLMs are...

spherical aberration

spot photometer -> telephotometer

An instrument used to measure the luminance (brightness) of a distant object. The object is viewed through a small telescope, and a mirror in the focal plane reflects an internal illuminated surface...

Sturm interval

The distance between two focal lines in an astigmatic image produced by a lens or mirror.

telephotometer

telescope

An afocal optical device made up of lenses or mirrors, usually with a magnification greater than unity, that renders distant objects more distinct, by enlarging their images on the retina.

telescope lens

A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is typically a curved, transparent piece of glass or other optical material...

terahertz spectrometer

A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz frequency range, typically spanning from about 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz),...

thin film

A thin layer of a substance deposited on an insulating base in a vacuum by a microelectronic process. Thin films are most commonly used for antireflection, achromatic beamsplitters, color filters,...

vertical leveling mirror

A two-sided mirror suspended by a pendulum mechanism. An autocollimator set normal to such a mirror surface will, by definition, have its optical axis set horizontal.

Wiener experiment

After putting a thick photographic emulsion on a front-faced mirror, and exposing the emulsion to monochromatic incident light normal to the face, Wiener discovered, upon developing the emulsion,...

Photonics Dictionary